Processing and manufacturing process of seamless double-plastic high-cavity tube

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of high polymer material additive manufacturing, in particular to a processing and manufacturing process of a seamless double-plastic high-cavity tube, and the seamless double-plastic high-cavity tube is manufactured by adopting an additive manufacturing process. Cutting out the prefabricated plastic inner pipe, clamping the prefabricated plastic inner pipe on a rotatable clamp located below the printing head, arranging a base plate at the initial printing position, printing the main pipe section of the outer pipe on the base plate layer by layer, alternately carrying out printing operation and angle adjustment operation until the main pipe section of the outer pipe is printed, and then adjusting the angle of the prefabricated plastic inner pipe, printing an outer tube sealing section layer by layer at the unprinted notch part of the hollow outer wall plastic outer tube, and supporting the forming of a suspended upper bottom of the outer tube sealing section by adopting a specially-made disintegrable supporting sheet during the period. The seamless double-plastic high-cavity tube prepared through the method is used for structural analysis or performance detection tests, the application of the additive manufacturing technology avoids manufacturing of a complex co-extrusion die head and occupation of production equipment, and convenience is provided for enriching the number of experimental groups and researching and developing more mature products.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of additive manufacturing of polymer materials, and specifically to a processing and manufacturing process for seamless double-plastic high-chamber pipes, which uses additive manufacturing technology to manufacture seamless double-plastic high-chamber pipes. Background Art

[0002] Additive manufacturing (i.e., 3D printing) is a common forming process for polymer materials, and is commonly used in product trial production and research and development in the industrial field or the manufacture of complex three-dimensional objects in non-industrial fields such as the manufacture of handicrafts.

[0003] The seamless double-plastic high-chamber pipe is a corrugated pipe frequently developed by the company. It is formed by an inner plastic pipe as the base pipe and a hollow outer wall plastic pipe compounded on the outer surface. The material is HDPE. Since the trapezoidal cross-section of the outer wall presents the characteristics of high length (width-height ratio > 1), it is necessary to ensure its strength by means of setting reinforcing ribs, reinforcing walls or implanting reinforcing materials, etc. For such pipes, even for process verification, it is necessary to design complex co-extrusion dies one by one according to the design dimensions and structures corresponding to each process condition and produce samples on the production line. However, in order to obtain a mature product, there are a large number of experimental groups designed in the early stage, which results in huge mold costs. Moreover, the equipment occupation also has a great impact on the production rhythm.

[0004] Although additive manufacturing technology has been maturely applied in the trial production and research and development of polymer material products, there is no application in the manufacture of seamless double-plastic high-chamber pipes because some technical difficulties need to be overcome. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present invention precisely solves the problems in the background art and provides a processing and manufacturing process for seamless double-plastic high-chamber pipes based on additive manufacturing technology.

[0006] Technical Solution

[0007] A processing and manufacturing process for seamless double-plastic high-chamber pipes includes the following steps:

[0008] S1. Cut a prefabricated plastic inner pipe of the required length, clamp it on a rotatable fixture located below the print head, set a base plate at the starting printing position and make the base plate horizontal;

[0009] S2. After positioning the print head, the print head starts to layer-print the outer pipe main section of the hollow outer wall plastic outer pipe on the base plate according to the pre-designed structure. After printing every predetermined number of layers or a predetermined thickness, operate the rotatable fixture to adjust the prefabricated plastic inner pipe by a certain angle, re-position the print head, and continue to print the outer pipe main section on the upper surface of the already printed part;

[0010] S3. Repeat the printing and angle adjustment operations in step S2 until the printing of the main section of the outer tube is completed.

[0011] S4. Adjust the angle of the prefabricated plastic inner tube by operating the rotating fixture so that the unprinted notch part of the hollow outer wall plastic outer tube faces upward and is centered.

[0012] S5. Position the print head and layer by layer print the sealing section of the outer tube of the hollow outer wall plastic outer tube at the notch part. First, complete the printing of the waist and vertical ribs of the outer tube sealing section, then insert a support sheet into the cavity between the waist and the vertical ribs, and finally print the upper bottom of the outer tube sealing section, thereby completing the printing of the entire hollow outer wall plastic outer tube.

[0013] In a further embodiment, it further includes step S6 of using the prepared seamless double-plastic high cavity tube for structural analysis or performance detection tests.

[0014] In a further embodiment, in step S1, the base plate is set on the prefabricated plastic inner tube by pasting or hot melting.

[0015] In a further embodiment, in step S1, a plurality of the base plates are arranged on the prefabricated plastic inner tube at equal intervals along the axial direction of the prefabricated plastic inner tube.

[0016] In a further embodiment, in step S2, the print head uses wire material as the raw material.

[0017] In a further embodiment, in step S3, during the process of repeating the printing and angle adjustment operations, when further adjusting the angle of the prefabricated plastic inner tube will cause interference between the printed part of the main section of the outer tube and the print head, it is regarded that the printing of the main section of the outer tube is completed.

[0018] In a further embodiment, before or after step S4, the base plate is removed.

[0019] In a further embodiment, the support sheet is made of a disintegratable material.

[0020] In a further embodiment, after step S5, it further includes an operation of disintegrating the support sheet by applying an external force to the outer tube sealing section.

[0021] In a further embodiment, multiple hollow outer wall plastic outer tubes on the same prefabricated plastic inner tube are printed synchronously or one by one.

[0022] Beneficial effects

[0023] The processing and manufacturing process of a seamless double-plastic high-cavity tube provided by the present invention applies the additive manufacturing technology to the processing and manufacturing of seamless double-plastic high-cavity tubes for the first time and overcomes the difficulties in the process from modeling to forming in additive manufacturing. During the R & D and experimental stage, it is no longer necessary to design complex co-extrusion dies one by one for the design dimensions and structures corresponding to each process condition and produce on-line samples, which provides convenience for enriching the number of experimental groups and developing more mature products, greatly reducing the mold cost and reducing the occupation of production equipment. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the drawings required for the description of the embodiments or the prior art.

[0025] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the state before the additive manufacturing of the seamless double-plastic high-cavity tube of the present invention.

[0026] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the first state during the additive manufacturing of the main pipe section of the outer tube.

[0027] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the second state during the additive manufacturing of the main pipe section of the outer tube.

[0028] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of removing the base plate in the manufacturing process.

[0029] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the state before the additive manufacturing of the sealing section of the outer tube.

[0030] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of the state during the additive manufacturing of the sealing section of the outer tube.

[0031] Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram of inserting a support piece during the manufacturing process.

[0032] Figure 8 It is a schematic diagram of the insertion position of the support piece in the sealing section of the outer tube (top view).

[0033] Figure 9 It is a schematic diagram of the support piece structure.

[0034] Figure 10 It is a schematic diagram of the state when the support piece is just inserted into the sealing section of the outer tube (cross-sectional view).

[0035] Figure 11 It is a schematic diagram of the state after the additive manufacturing of the sealing section of the outer tube is completed (cross-sectional view).

[0036] In the figure: 1 - print head, 2 - prefabricated plastic inner tube, 3 - base plate, 4 - hollow outer wall plastic outer tube, 41 - main outer tube section, 42 - outer tube sealing section, 421 - waist, 422 - vertical rib, 423 - upper base, 5 - support piece, 51 - first side, 52 - second side, 53 - disintegration hole. Detailed implementation mode

[0037] The following specific embodiments illustrate the implementation mode of the present invention. Those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present invention from the content disclosed in this specification. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative work belong to the scope of protection of the present invention. Terms such as "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "middle" cited in this specification are only for the convenience of clear narration, rather than to limit the scope of implementation of the present invention. The change or adjustment of their relative relationship, without substantial change in technical content, should also be regarded as the scope of implementation of the present invention.

[0038] Embodiment 1

[0039] Refer to Figures 1 to 7 , a processing and manufacturing process of a seamless double-plastic high-chamber tube provided in this embodiment. The plastics used for the inner tube and the outer tube of the seamless double-plastic high-chamber tube are both HDPE, and the width-to-height ratio of the trapezoidal cross-section of the outer wall > 1.

[0040] The processing and manufacturing process of the seamless double-plastic high-chamber tube provided in this embodiment is implemented based on additive manufacturing technology, and is not used for mass production of orders. It is used to provide samples for structural analysis or performance testing experiments in the research and development of new products.

[0041] Specifically, the processing and manufacturing process of this embodiment includes the following steps:

[0042] S1, cut a prefabricated plastic inner tube 2 of the required length, clamp it on a rotatable fixture below the print head 1, and paste the base plate 3 at the starting printing position and make the base plate 3 horizontal.

[0043] In this step, parameters such as the diameter and thickness of the prefabricated plastic inner tube 2 are selected according to the design requirements of the test product. The length of the prefabricated plastic inner tube 2 may not be exactly the same as the length of the actual product, but it is also necessary to ensure the referenceability of the performance test data.

[0044] The purpose of making the base plate 3 horizontal is to provide a base for the initial printing layer of the print head 1. Since it is necessary to make a plurality of hollow outer wall plastic outer tubes 4 at equal intervals along the axis of the prefabricated plastic inner tube 2 in the subsequent steps, in this step, a plurality of base plates 3 are pasted onto the prefabricated plastic inner tube 2 at equal intervals along the axis of the prefabricated plastic inner tube 2.

[0045] In addition to pasting, the base plate 3 can also be temporarily fixed to the starting printing position of the prefabricated plastic inner tube 2 by other means such as hot melting.

[0046] S2. After positioning the print head 1, the print head 1 starts to print the outer tube main section 41 of the hollow outer wall plastic outer tube 4 layer by layer on the base plate 3 according to the pre-designed structure of the hollow outer wall plastic outer tube 4.

[0047] Specifically, the print head 1 of the present invention uses wire material as the raw material. After printing a predetermined number of layers (or thickness), the prefabricated plastic inner tube 2 is adjusted by a certain angle by operating the rotating fixture, and the print head 1 is repositioned to continue printing the outer tube main section 41 on the upper surface of the already printed part.

[0048] The angle adjusted each time for the prefabricated plastic inner tube 2 can be flexibly selected in combination with the printing accuracy, but it is preferably not more than 2°.

[0049] Since a plurality of hollow outer wall plastic outer tubes 4 need to be made at equal intervals in the axial direction of the prefabricated plastic inner tube 2, in order to avoid repeated angle adjustments, printing is carried out on multiple base plates 3 synchronously in this step. Here, "synchronously" does not mean that each layer of material is printed synchronously, but means that each time the prefabricated plastic inner tube 2 is adjusted by an angle, the material of the currently set number of layers (or thickness) is printed on all the base plates 3. The process of printing the material of the set number of layers (or thickness) on each base plate 3 can be carried out one by one.

[0050] S3. In this step, the printing and angle adjustment operations in step S2 are repeated until the printing of the outer tube main section 41 is completed. In this step, the starting layer printed each time after the angle adjustment is the uppermost layer that continues the previous printing. Figure 3 Schematic diagram shows the state close to the end of the additive manufacturing process of the outer tube main section 41, with the help of Figure 3 It can be understood that in this step, during the process of repeating the printing and angle adjustment operations, when continuing to adjust the angle of the prefabricated plastic inner tube 2 will cause interference between the printed part of the outer tube main section 41 and the print head 1, it is regarded that the printing of the outer tube main section 41 is completed.

[0051] S4. Refer to Figure 5 In this step, the angle of the prefabricated plastic inner tube 2 is adjusted by operating the rotating fixture so that the unprinted notch part of the hollow outer wall plastic outer tube 4 faces upward and is centered.

[0052] Combined with Figure 4 It can be known that before (or after) step S4, the base plate 3 has been removed.

[0053] S5. Refer to Figure 6, in this step, position the print head 1, and layer by layer print the outer tube sealing section 42 of the hollow outer wall plastic outer tube 4 at the notch part described in step S4.

[0054] The following is understood with the help of Figures 8 to 11 . Since the upper bottom 423 of the outer tube sealing section 42 is completely suspended, in this step, it is necessary to first print the waist 421 and the vertical ribs 422 of the outer tube sealing section 42, then insert the support sheet 5 into the cavity between the waist 421 and the vertical ribs 422, and finally print the upper bottom 423 of the outer tube sealing section 42, so as to complete the printing of the entire hollow outer wall plastic outer tube 4.

[0055] In the present invention, the support sheet 5 is made of a disintegratable material such as modeling wax or modeling sand, and only has the printing support strength and does not have higher mechanical properties, so that after the production of the seamless double-plastic high-chamber tube is completed in this step, the support sheet 5 can be disintegrated by applying an external force at the outer tube sealing section 42.

[0056] Preferably, as Figure 9 shown, in addition to the fact that the material of the support sheet 5 of this embodiment is easily disintegratable, a plurality of disintegration holes 53 are also made on the support sheet 5. In addition to reducing the mechanical strength of the support sheet 5 to make the support sheet 5 more easily disintegrated, the amount of debris generated after the disintegration of the support sheet 5 is also reduced. The debris after disintegration slides into the entire hollow outer wall plastic outer tube 4 and does not affect the subsequent mechanical property tests.

[0057] In the structural design of the support sheet 5, its edge includes a first side portion 51 and a second side portion 52 from top to bottom. The first side portion 51 has a small inclination angle, and the second side portion 52 has a large inclination angle. The large inclination angle of the second side portion 52 not only helps to smoothly insert the support sheet 5 into the cavity between the waist 421 and the vertical ribs 422, but also helps to further reduce the material consumption of the support sheet 5. The small inclination angle of the first side portion 51 ensures that after the support sheet 5 is inserted into the cavity between the waist 421 and the vertical ribs 422, there can be a reliable contact with the materials on both sides, reducing the risk of shaking of the first side portion 51. The small inclination angle of the first side portion 51 preferably has an inclination angle of 5-20°, and the large inclination angle of the second side portion 52 preferably has an inclination angle of more than 30°, and the upper limit is such that a reliable contact between the lower bottom surface of the support sheet 5 and the prefabricated plastic inner tube 2 can be ensured.

[0058] Finally, as an optional step S6, the prepared seamless double-plastic high-chamber tube is used for structural analysis or performance detection tests.

[0059] It should be noted that although synchronously printing multiple hollow outer wall plastic outer tubes 4 on the same prefabricated plastic inner tube 2 is a time-saving and efficient operation method, obviously in alternative embodiments, it is also feasible to select the method of printing the multiple hollow outer wall plastic outer tubes 4 on the same prefabricated plastic inner tube 2 one by one. This printing method should also be regarded as an effective embodiment of the present invention and will not be elaborated here.

[0060] In summary, the processing and manufacturing process of the seamless double-plastic high-cavity tube provided by the embodiments of the present invention applies the additive manufacturing technology to the processing and manufacturing of the seamless double-plastic high-cavity tube for the first time and overcomes multiple difficulties in the process from modeling to forming in additive manufacturing. The seamless double-plastic high-cavity tube is used to provide samples for structural analysis or performance detection tests in new product research and development, so that it is no longer necessary to design complex co-extrusion dies one by one for the design dimensions and structures corresponding to each process condition and produce samples on the production line during the research and development test stage, which provides convenience for enriching the number of experimental groups and developing more mature products, greatly reduces the mold cost and reduces the occupation of production equipment.

[0061] Although the present invention has been described in detail above with general descriptions and specific embodiments, based on the present invention, some modifications or improvements can be made, which are obvious to those skilled in the art. Therefore, these modifications or improvements made without departing from the spirit of the present invention all fall within the scope of protection required by the present invention.

Claims

1. A processing and manufacturing process for a seamless double-plastic high-lumen tube, characterized in that: The steps include: S1, cutting a prefabricated plastic inner tube (2) of a required length, clamping it on a rotatable fixture located below the printing head (1), setting a base plate (3) at a starting printing position and making the base plate (3) horizontal; S2, after positioning the print head (1), the print head (1) starts to print the outer tube main section (41) of the hollow outer wall plastic outer tube (4) layer by layer on the base plate (3) according to the structure of the pre-designed hollow outer wall plastic outer tube (4), and after printing each predetermined number of layers or a predetermined thickness, the prefabricated plastic inner tube (2) is adjusted to a certain angle by operating the rotating fixture, and the print head (1) is repositioned to continue printing the outer tube main section (41) on the upper surface of the printed portion; S3, repeating the printing and angle adjustment operations in step S2 until the printing of the outer tube main section (41) is completed; S4, adjusting the angle of the prefabricated plastic inner tube (2) by operating the rotating fixture so that the unprinted notch portion of the hollow outer wall plastic outer tube (4) faces upward and is centered; S5, positioning the print head (1), printing the outer tube sealing section (42) of the hollow outer wall plastic outer tube (4) layer by layer at the notch position, first printing the waist (421) and vertical ribs (422) of the outer tube sealing section (42), then inserting the support sheet (5) into the cavity between the waist (421) and the vertical ribs (422), and finally printing the upper bottom (423) of the outer tube sealing section (42), thereby completing the printing of the entire hollow outer wall plastic outer tube (4).

2. The processing and manufacturing process of the seamless double-plastic high-lumen tube according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The method further includes step S6, wherein the prepared seamless dual-plastic high-lumen tube is used for structural analysis or performance testing.

3. The processing and manufacturing process of the seamless double-plastic high-lumen tube according to claim 1 is characterized in that: In step S1, the base plate (3) is placed on the prefabricated plastic inner tube (2) by gluing or hot-melting.

4. The processing and manufacturing process of the seamless double-plastic high-lumen tube according to claim 1 is characterized in that: In step S1, a plurality of the base plates (3) are arranged on the prefabricated plastic inner tube (2) at equal intervals along the axial direction of the prefabricated plastic inner tube (2).

5. The processing and manufacturing process of the seamless double-plastic high-lumen tube according to claim 1 is characterized in that: In step S2, the printing head (1) uses wire as raw material.

6. The manufacturing process of the seamless double-plastic high-lumen tube according to claim 1 is characterized in that: In step S3, during the process of repeating the printing and angle adjustment operations, when continued adjustment of the angle of the prefabricated plastic inner tube (2) causes the printed portion of the outer tube main section (41) to interfere with the print head (1), the printing of the outer tube main section (41) is deemed to be completed.

7. The manufacturing process of the seamless double-plastic high-lumen tube according to claim 1 is characterized in that: Before or after step S4, the base plate (3) is removed.

8. The manufacturing process of the seamless double-plastic high-lumen tube according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The supporting sheet (5) is made of a disintegrable material.

9. The manufacturing process of the seamless double-plastic high-lumen tube according to claim 8 is characterized in that: After step S5, the method further includes applying external force to the outer tube sealing section (42) to disintegrate the support sheet (5).

10. The manufacturing process of the seamless dual-plastic high-lumen tube according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that: A plurality of hollow outer wall plastic outer tubes (4) on the same prefabricated plastic inner tube (2) are printed synchronously or one by one.

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